1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to meters for measuring parameters of electrical energy. In particular, this disclosure relates to a system and method for providing universal additional functionality for energy meters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical utility companies (“utilities”) track electric usage by customers by using power meters. These meters track the amount of power consumed at a particular location, such as a substation. The electric utility companies may use the power meter to charge its customers for their power consumption, i.e., revenue metering.
Traditionally, power meters used mechanical means to track the amount of consumed power. The inductive spinning disk power meter is still commonly used. The spinning disk drives mechanical counters that track the power consumption information. A display device, such as a dial, is provided for displaying the measurements read, which can then be manually recorded as desired by an operator.
Newer to the market are electronic power meters. Electronic meters have replaced the older mechanical meters, and utilize digital sampling of the voltage and current waveforms to generate power consumption information. A display device, such as an LED for displaying digital data, is provided for displaying the measurements read. In many instances it is desirable to further process or utilize the measurements. It has been customary to provide a power meter with selected capabilities or options, such as for further processing the measurements, transmitting the measurements via a desired communication medium, or controlling other devices in accordance with the measurements. Typically, a customized meter is provided having options selected in accordance with the intended application that the meter is used in. From a manufacturing point of view, customization of individual meters is costly. Furthermore, upgrading the meter to include additional options is typically performed at the field by an expert and requires customized programming of the upgraded meter. Experience has shown that operators of the meter rely heavily on technical support for learning how to use the meter's options and for troubleshooting problems, all of which is costly to the manufacturer. The additional costs are most likely passed on to the customer.
Therefore, it is an aspect of the disclosure to provide a power meter which may be used with a variety of options, where the options are exchangeable or replaceable with simple and minimal actions by an operator of the meter.
It is further an aspect of the disclosure to provide a variety of options in which the respective options are packaged for simple installation with a meter by an operator of the meter.